AUSTRALIA coach Robbie Deans insisted the bruising 31-8 victory over an uncompromising Italian side was just the kind of test his side needed.

The Wallabies made light work of a star-studded Barbarians side last weekend but while they were clearly the better outfit at a chilly Canberra Stadium, the men in gold were made to work for their victory.

“It was a great workout for us essentially, very physical which we always anticipated and off the back of a game that we got a lot of latitude in, that was a really good physical workout and we’ll be better for it,” Deans said.

“We were a little bit inaccurate around the contact but in a contest where we found it difficult to get any momentum, we were still able to score five tries so you can’t fault that.”

Italy coach Nick Mallet was not so enthusiastic, admitting his men – who could be handed a 10th consecutive Test defeat in Melbourne next week – have a lot of work ahead of them.

“I don’t think we were very happy with our game, particularly the individual errors we made,” he said.